In a 1980 race for the California State Senate, Doolittle, then 29, stunned everyone by narrowly defeating Democrat Albert S. Rodda, dean of the state Senate and chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

In 1981, the Democratic state legislature's redistricting plan, which used creatively drawn districts to squeeze out Republican lawmakers, dumped Doolittle into a Democratic district, where he lost to then-Assemblyman Leroy Greene in 1982. But by a quirk of redistricting, Doolittle was able to keep his original seat until 1984, when he won another term by beating Ray E. Johnson, a Republican turned independent from Chico.[4] An administrative law judge later found him guilty of violating campaign finance laws when his campaign helped his Democratic opponent, to pull votes away from Johnson.[5] Doolittle easily won re-election in 1988. From 1987 to 1990, he was chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus.

In 1990, Republican Norman D. Shumway, also a Mormon, retired from Congress. In the November general election, Doolittle defeated Patty Malberg, a Democrat from Lincoln, getting 51% of the vote, in what was then the 14th Congressional District.

Doolittle's district was renumbered as the 4th in 1992, and he was reelected with 50 percent of the vote, again defeating Malberg. However, he was reelected with 61 percent of the vote in 1994 and didn't face another close race until 2006.

Doolittle is a staunch conservative. According to the Associated Press, "Doolittle is a generally loyal supporter of the Bush administration—though like many House Republicans he opposes Bush's support for an immigration guest worker program." He is in favor of partial privatization of Social Security, saying he would like to see people "gain ownership over their own funds". He opposes gun control and abortion rights.

Doolittle is known for support of the Auburn Dam project, despite environmental concerns and uncertainties about the impact that such a dam might have on seismic activity in the area. A mid-1990s preliminary United States Geological Survey report cited concerns about the potential of earthquakes caused by that project.[8] Doolittle's stated reason for supporting the Auburn Dam is for flood control of Sacramento. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he portrayed the flooding in New Orleans as an example of why the project was needed. Critics replied that the Gulf Coast, with its hurricane season and the torrential rainfalls associated with it, is not a valid comparison to a region of the country that historically often has droughts, and said that Folsom and Nimbus Dams suffice in an intense rainy season. Opponents of the project believe that the proposed Auburn Dam will also accelerate urban sprawl east of Sacramento and downriver from the proposed dam. Placer County has one of the highest growth rates in the country. Opponents also cite other issues such as destruction of the canyon environment and loss of habitat for wildlife. In 1975, the construction of the dam stopped due to environmental concerns, money issues, and the seismic instability of the proposed dam site, the construction was canceled and the project is abandoned. Much of the preliminary work on the dam can still be seen today. In 2005, Doolittle secured funding for studies on moving the project forward.

In the Republican primary on June 6, 2006, Doolittle was challenged for his party's nomination by Mike Holmes, the mayor of Auburn. Doolittle raised more than $1.1 million in campaign contributions, more than 14 times that of Holmes. Doolittle won the primary with 67% of the vote.[11]

In the general election, Doolittle's Democratic opponent was retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Charles Brown. Doolittle agreed to a single debate, on October 11, 2006.[12] Doolittle defeated Brown, getting 49% of the vote to Brown's 46%. Brown defeated Doolittle in Nevada County, but narrowly lost the most populated county in the district, Placer County, and lost the rest of the district.

In January 2007, Doolittle announced ten steps he said he would take to re-establish the confidence of the district in his holding office. He announced the planned changes in an op-ed piece he distributed to newspapers in his district.[13][14]

In 2007, Congress took up the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides health care for about 6 million children and 670,000 adults from families who earn too much money qualify for Medicare but not enough to afford health insurance. Congressional Democrats and many Republicans tried to use the opportunity to dramatically expand the program but were opposed by President George W. Bush and other Republicans. In 2006, 5.4 million children were eligible but not enrolled in SCHIP or Medicaid and 9.4 million total children were uninsured.

John Doolittle voted against the first House bill, which passed along party lines. It would have added $47 billion over five years to the $25 billion cost of the program and added about 5 million people to the program, including children, some legal immigrants, pregnant women and adults aged 18 and 19. The bill was financed mainly by an increase in cigarette taxes.[15]

House Democrats, with 45 Republicans, later compromised and passed a bill that expanded the plan by $35 billion and would have insured about 3.5 million more children from families generally making between 250% and 300% of the federal poverty line (about $51,000 to $62,000 for a family of four). Most non-pregnant, childless adults were excluded, as were most legal immigrants and all illegal immigrants. Doolittle voted against the bill.[16]

After President Bush vetoed the bill, Democratic leaders attempted to override the veto with the same bill but failed. Doolittle voted against the bill.[17]

House Democrats then attempted to override it with another bill, which gave into Republican demands for increased checks for citizenship, the quick phasing-out of adult coverage, a hard limit of 300% of the federal poverty level and funding for families that covered their children through private insurance instead. Republicans, angry that the vote was scheduled during massive fires in California, blocked the veto override. Doolittle voted against the bill.[18]

Between 2005 and 2006 John Doolittle raised a total of $2,354,786 for his political campaign. 65.1% of his finances came from private donors, 34.5% from PACs, and 0.3% from other various sources. 54.3% of the PAC contributions came from business organizations while the other 45.7% came from labor and ideological groups. At the end of his 2005–2006 political campaign 98.4% of his finances were completely disclosed.[19] According to the FEC (Federal Election Commission) John Doolittle has raised a total of $278,142 this year.[20]

On September 20, 2006, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) a group headed by former Democratic Congressional staffer Melanie Sloan,[21] released its second annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress, titled "Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch)". Doolittle was one of the 20. The organization said "His ethics issues stem from his wife’s relationship to his campaign and political action committees, as well as campaign contributions and personal financial benefits he accepted from those who sought his legislative assistance."[22] He was also listed in CREW's subsequent 2007 and 2008 reports.[citation needed] On June 11, 2010 the U.S. Attorney announced that after a 4 year investigation they had closed its case against Congressman Doolittle and would not pursue charges. Doolittle, who had consistently denied wrongdoing, expressed regret that so many lives and careers had been impacted by the investigation that forced him from office but indicated relief that it was finally over.

John Doolittle has been entangled in the scandal involving Jack Abramoff. On September 27, 2007, he indicated that he planned to fight a Justice Department subpoena for 11 years of records as part of that department's investigation into his conduct.[23]

Doolittle has denied any wrongdoing. In connection with the matter, he hired David Barger, a criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor from Ken Starr's office, and Wiley Rein LLP, a law firm that specializes in campaign finance and government ethics.[24][25] Doolittle has estimated that he received about $50,000 from clients of Abramoff, mostly Indian tribes.[26] Abramoff also personally donated $14,000 over the period 1999–2004 to Doolittle's congressional campaigns.[27] After Doolittle's Chief of Staff Kevin A. Ring left to work for Abramoff, Ring helped arrange for Abramoff to hire a consulting firm owned by Doolittle's wife.[28] Doolittle also used Abramoff's luxury sports box for a fundraiser without initially reporting it.[29] Doolittle was investigated by a federal probe into his relationship with Abramoff.[30] On April 13, 2007, Doolittle's former aide, Kevin Ring, resigned from his lobby firm.[31] On the same day, the FBI raided Doolittle's Virginia home.[32] On September 4, 2007, the House announced that Doolittle's Chief of Staff Ron Rogers and Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Blankenburg were subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury.[33]

Dan Landon, a Republican and the executive director of the Nevada County Transportation Commission, said that he was told recently by Doolittle's staff that "it also doesn't hurt to have a lobbyist". Sharon Atteberry, city administrator for the city of Oroville, said she had also been urged to hire a lobbyist by Doolittle's staff. "They encouraged us that a lobbyist is very important to any city or county government" she said.[34]

During the 2001–2005 period, Julie Doolittle had at least three different occupations: she worked for Jack Abramoff doing event planning (see above); she worked as a bookkeeper for a lobbying firm; and she worked on commission as a fundraiser for her husband. Payments to Julie Doolittle during the period were done via a company called Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions.[35] It was founded in March 2001, just after Congressman Doolittle gained a seat on the Appropriations Committee. It is based at the couple's home in Oakton, Virginia; Julie is the only employee. The company (that is, Julie) has continued to do fundraising, but no event planning or other work, since the Abramoff scandal first became public in early 2005.[35]

Sierra Dominion charged Doolittle's campaign and his Superior California Political Action Committee a fifteen percent commission on any contribution that Julie Doolittle helps bring in. Federal and state campaign records show that she had received nearly $180,000 in commissions from for such fundraising since late 2001.[35] Doolittle aides said even though the PAC had made payments to other fundraisers, Julie Doolittle was entitled to 15 percent of all money the PAC brought in because those donations were raised at events she helped organize.[38]

In December 2005, Richard Robinson, Doolittle's Chief of Staff, defended the commission structure. "Sierra Dominion's compensation is based entirely on performance in that it receives a percentage in what it is directly involved in raising. This arrangement is not only consistent with that of other fund raisers but is designed to avoid the appearance that Sierra Dominion is compensated for anything other than its tireless and effective work. Any suggestion otherwise is completely without merit."[39]

In 2006, the 27,000-member Association of Fundraising Professionals released a letter it had sent to Doolittle, declaring that his wife's activities violated the Association's ethics code, in that their code "explicitly prohibits percentage-based compensation".[40]

In January 2007, Doolittle announced that he would no longer employ his wife as his campaign fundraiser. Instead, he said, he would hire an outside fundraiser.[13] But in July 2007, his campaign reported expenses of $50,000 for fundraising by Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions during the April–June 2007 period. The company was also still owed $76,000 in commissions from the 2006 race.[41]

KORUSEC, which employed Doolittle's wife (see above) and the U.S.-Malaysia Exchange Association, another non-profit firm operated by ASG, paid the $29,400 cost of what was described as a "fact finding mission" to South Korea and Malaysia by Doolittle accompanied by his 12-year-old daughter in 2005. This trip included a stop at the Berjaya Beach & Spa Resort on the Malaysian island of Langkawi.

KORUSEC and the U.S.-Malaysia Exchange Association, which were operated by a Washington lobbying firm, Alexander Strategy Group, were, as of November 2006, being investigated by the FBI as possible conduits for illegal influence in U.S. affairs by a foreign corporation (KORUSEC) and a foreign government (USMEA). A spokeswoman for Doolittle said that he believed that his trip was proper and that it had nothing to do with the earmarks.[42]

PerfectWave is a company owned by Brent R. Wilkes; Doolittle has had significant involvement with both. Wilkes has become controversial because disgraced Congressman Duke Cunningham admitted receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and favors from Wilkes for his efforts to help another of Wilkes' companies, ADCS Inc.

In 2002, Wilkes hired the Alexander Strategy Group (ASG) to do lobbying for the PerfectWave.[43] In November, 2003, Wilkes hosted a fund-raising dinner for Doolittle. Between 2002 to 2005, Doolittle received at least $118,000 in campaign contributions from Wilkes, PerfectWave associates and their wives, and ASG lobbyists Edwin A. Buckham and Tony C. Rudy (two former aides of Tom DeLay) and their wives.[44]

Doolittle, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said in January, 2006 that he had helped steer defense funds totaling $37 million to PerfectWave ($1 million in 2002, $18 million in 2003, and then $18 million in 2004.) Doolittle said that his support was based "on the project's merits and the written support of the military."[45] But the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that "The money was not requested by the Navy but was instead inserted by the Appropriations Committee as part of the closed-door congressional earmarking process."[46] They further reported that "[T]he only evidence Doolittle's office could provide to show military support for the project was a letter of praise from Robert Lusardi, a program manager for light armored vehicles at the Marine Corps dated Feb. 25—two and a half years after PerfectWave got its first earmark. By the time Lusardi wrote his letter, the company had received at least $37 million in earmarks."[43]

In February 2006, Doolittle said that he was glad he supported PerfectWave, saying "it has unique technology ... that ensures the safety of our armed forces in the war on terror.[47]

On January 8, 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that "Reps. John T. Doolittle and Richard W. Pombo joined forces with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz, documents recently obtained by The Times show." Furthermore, "When the FDIC persisted, Doolittle and Pombo—both considered proteges of DeLay—used their power as members of the House Resources Committee to subpoena the agency's confidential records on the case, including details of the evidence FDIC investigators had compiled on Hurwitz." The FDIC investigation was ultimately dropped.[48]

The Times reported that "Although Washington politicians frequently try to help important constituents and contributors, it is unusual for members of Congress to take direct steps to stymie an ongoing investigation by an agency such as the FDIC." The article concluded, "in the Hurwitz case, Doolittle and Pombo were in a position to pressure the FDIC and did so."[48][49]

On April 19, 2007, Doolittle resigned from the Committee on Appropriations in response to a raid by the FBI at his Northern Virginia home. The raid stemmed from possible involvement by his wife in the Abramoff investigation.[50]

Democrat Charlie Brown, a retired Lt. Colonel who lost to Doolittle in 2006 by only 3 percent of the vote, announced in February 2007 that he would run again in 2008. Brown outraised Doolittle in the first and second quarters of 2007; as of June 30, he had a net cash balance of $251,000; Doolittle had a negative balance of $32,000.[41]

In August 2007, former Placer County Republican Party chairman Ken Campbell, a longtime financial backer of Doolittle, said he was withdrawing his support. Campbell cited a recent Club for Growth report on votes in 2007 on spending bills, where Doolittle scored 2 percent, compared to the Republican average of 43 percent.[51]

In July 2007, Eric Egland, a 37-year-old Air Force reservist and security consultant, announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for the seat held by Doolittle. In August 2007, Auburn City Councilman Mike Holmes announced that he also was entering the 2008 race. Holmes ran unsuccessfully against Doolittle for the Republican nomination in 2006, getting 33 percent of the primary vote to 67 percent for Doolittle.[52]

On August 30, 2007, State Assemblyman Ted Gaines announced the establishment of an exploratory committee to begin raising money to run for Congress against Doolittle, stating "I think voters have lost faith in his leadership ability...when you lose the moral ability to lead, you kind of have to re-evaluate."[53]

Doolittle lashed back at Gaines, saying, "After spending the last month talking to local voters, I have seen strong support for my candidacy and a strong desire to focus on solving problems instead of plotting for political advantage...I will gladly place before the voters my record of over 30 years of service to the Republican Party to Ted Gaines' less than one year."[53]

After much speculation, on January 10, 2008, John Doolittle announced he would finish his current term, and not run for re-election.[54]

After Doolittle's retirement announcement, Councilman Holmes quit the race and instead endorsed former Republican Congressman Doug Ose, who announced on February 1, 2008 that he is running for Doolittle's seat. Ose faced opposition from former California State Senator Rico Oller (R-San Andreas), who announced his candidacy on January 10, 2008. When California State Senator Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) announced that he too was running for Doolittle's seat on March 4, 2008, Oller dropped out of the race, and decided to give his endorsement to McClintock. Although he didn't live in the district, McClintock beat Charlie Brown in the general election by only 1,800 votes.